Volumetric output of blood from the heart and/or circulatory system is of interest in various diagnostic and therapeutic procedures. Such measurements are of significant interest during evaluation or therapy to evaluate the extent of dysynchrony due to arrhythmia and subsequently to judge the effectiveness of any therapeutic procedures that are carried out on the cardiac muscle and conduction system Iwa et al., Eur. J. Cardithorac. Surg., 5, 191-197 (1991).
Ultrasound is the imaging modality of choice, especially in cardiology, since this modality offers real-time imaging capabilities of the moving heart. Further, advances through Doppler or speckle tracking techniques allow the physician to visualize as well as measure blood flow. Pulse wave and continuous wave Doppler have proven to be quite accurate, and an effective way of evaluating flow through various parts of the circulatory system, especially the heart. Tortoli et al., Ultrasound Med. Bio., 28, 249-257 (2002); Mohan et al., Pediatr. Cardiol. 23, 58-61 (2002); Ogawa et al., J. Vasc. Surg., 35, 527-531 (2002); Pislaru et al., J. Am. Coll. Cardiol., 38, 1748-1756 (2001).
Other technologies, including washout curves of contrast agents have been proposed to measure flow volume, especially to compensate for loss of signal quality due to imaging depth. Krishna et al., Ultrasound Med. Bio., 23, 453-459 (1997); Schrope et al., Ultrasound Med. Bio., 19, 567-579 (1993).
However, until recent advances in miniaturized ultrasonic transducers, physicians were limited to only certain angles of view, thus limiting the range and effectiveness of possible measurements. Further, given the depth of imaging required by such classical approaches, associated interrogation frequency limitations due to attenuation restricted the accuracy of measurement. Krishna et al., Phys. Med. Biol., 44, 681-694 (1999). With the recent introduction of catheter based transducers for imaging the heart from either the vena-cava or even from within the heart, such limitations on frequency of interrogation and angle of view are not applicable.
One specific need for this invention is for the permanent placement of cardiac pacing electrodes. Cardiac pacing has been around for many years, and essentially involves the placement of a permanent electrode in the right ventricle to quicken the pace of an otherwise slow heart. A new therapy has recently been introduced to the market, which involves pacing of the left ventricle in conjunction with the right ventricle in an effort to “resynchronize” the heart, that is, to coordinate the left ventricle's contraction in time with the contraction of the right ventricle. One problem in the current therapy is the optimization of the placement of the left ventricular electrode so as to provide maximum therapy. Historically, an electrode may have been inserted into a site with the lowest activation threshold in order to maximize battery life. However, the optimal therapeutic site may not have the lowest activation, or stimulation, threshold.
This invention addresses this problem by providing intracardiac ultrasound imaging, ultrasound Doppler, and ultrasound speckle pattern tracking as new tools for the placement of the electrode and for the configuration of the pacemaker energizing it.